Bert the Small Blue Engine
by CarsWorldFan
Summary: Growing up, I was always very disappointed that the Arlesdale Railway was never included in the television series. Bert was my favourite engine from the books, so two years ago I decided to write my own FanFiction book devoted entirely to him. These stories follow on from Jock the New Engine by Christopher Awdry. Hope you enjoy them!
1. Chapter 1 - Bert's Bird

Bert's Bird

The Arlesdale Railway, which is better known as the Small Railway on the Island of Sodor, is owned by a syndicate of very important people, headed by the Fat Controller. But he rarely visits the railway, because the Small Controller manages the engines without him.

One morning, the Small Controller went to see the engines while they were still in their shed.

"Tomorrow, your owners are coming to see you," he told them. "I know it's been a couple of years since they last saw you, so you'd better be on your very best behaviour. And I've decided that Jock will haul the VIP train."

Jock grinned broadly. He was very pleased to have been chosen to take the VIP's around.

But the next morning, Jock awoke feeling ill. When the Small Controller heard about it, he hurried to the shed. He only needed to look at Jock to know that Jock wasn't bluffing.

"I'm sorry, sir," Jock whispered feebly.

"It's not your fault," the Small Controller sighed. "These things just happen. I'll get your fitter to look after you. But that leaves us with the problem of who will take the VIPs." He turned to look at Rex, Mike and Bert. Seeing that Bert was almost ready to go, he made up his mind. "Bert? Are you feeling well enough to take the VIP train?"

Bert gulped nervously. For the last few years, he'd suffered from serious breathing issues. He'd had his tubes replaced countless time, tried many different types of coal, and had many other parts replaced, but instead of getting better, his breathing only became worse. He often ended up stopping near the top of the hill, wheezing and gasping for breath.

Bert looked up at the Small Controller. "I'll do my best, sir."

"That's a good engine," the Small Controller smiled. "I know you won't let me down."

Soon, Bert had been cleaned and polished until his driver could see his face in Bert's paintwork. Then, puffing anxiously, Bert backed down onto his train. Beside the Small Controller was the Fat Controller, the Thin Controller, the Owner of the Skarloey Railway and a number of other dignitaries.

"Hello, Bert," the Fat Controller smiled. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, sir," Bert whispered. He tried to sound polite, but his nervousness made him feel very shy all of a sudden.

Before the Fat Controller could make Bert even more nervous, the Small Controller escorted him over to the train. Once all the VIP's were on board, Bert set off.

Bert ran quite well until just before the Green. Then he began to wheeze horribly.

_No! Not now!_ Bert thought crossly as he struggled to haul the heavy train up the steep slope. The VIP's all heard him wheezing, and they began to talk anxiously amongst themselves.

As Bert topped the rise, he saw something sitting on the tracks ahead of him. Drawing closer, he saw that it was a duck.

_It'll move when I get closer_, Bert thought. But it didn't. Instead, it quacked loudly at Bert. Thanks to Bert's bad breathing, he hadn't been moving very fast, and so he was easily able to stop in front of the duck. He let off steam loudly, hoping to scare the duck away. The duck tried to stand up, but it couldn't.

Bert's driver climbed down and he went over to the duck. It tried to move away from him, but something was holding it down onto the track.

"It's got some fishing wire tied around its leg," Bert's driver explained after examining the duck. "And the other end has caught around a rail spike."

He carefully rolled the duck up in his jacket to stop it moving, and then he cut the fishing wire, releasing the duck. The Fat Controller was standing beside Bert when the driver stood up.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" the Fat Controller asked.

"If you really don't mind, Sir, could you please hold this duck until we reach the top station?" the driver asked, handing the duck over. "We'll contact a vet once we get there."

Thanks to the duck, Bert had had a chance to get his breath back, and they soon reached the top station without further incident. The VIPs were very impressed with everything they saw, but once the duck had been taken care of, the Fat Controller turned his attention to Bert.

"How long has Bert had breathing issues?" he asked the Small Controller.

"Too long," Bert muttered. But then he realised that the Fat Controller had overheard him.

"Has anything been done about it?" the Fat Controller continued, ignoring Bert's comment.

"We've done everything we can think of," the Small Controller sighed. "Bert's had so many new parts and we've tried every type of coal in the area, but it's done him no good, and he's been getting progressively worse."

"Do you know why?"

The Small Controller exhaled deeply. "Bert wasn't built like Rex and Mike. He was, essentially, built in a backyard shed. Whoever built him didn't give him a big enough firebox, and his boiler is too small. He'd steam a lot better with a different exhaust system and a larger firebox."

The Fat Controller frowned thoughtfully. "I'll look into it," he promised.


	2. Chapter 2 - Runaway Rex

Runaway Rex

Bert's breathing issues had become so bad that many of the passengers complained to the Small Controller. He knew it was no use trying to tell them that Bert could still work despite his condition, so he told Bert to rest in the shed for a while, to see if that would help him. Bert enjoyed the rest at first, but he quickly became bored.

With Bert out of action, Rex, Mike and Jock had to work a lot harder. Frank and the two new diesels, Blister I and Blister II, helped too. But even with the extra help from the diesels, there were many days when a lot of the work didn't get finished. Until then, nobody had realised just how much work Bert had been able to do, despite his weakened condition.

One afternoon, Rex was at the ballast quarry shunting together a train of ballast hoppers. But the more he shunted together, the more there seemed to be. At last, his driver decided that they had enough.

"No, please let me take more!" Rex begged. "That way there'll be less to take later on. I can manage them."

His driver reluctantly agreed. Soon, Rex had shunted together the longest train he'd even hauled. His wheels slipped a little as he began to move the train, but once it was moving it followed smoothly behind him.

Rex hummed quietly as he rumbled along. It was mostly downhill to the bottom station, so he didn't really have to work hard. Then there was trouble.

As Rex's driver applied the brakes around a bend, there was a loud 'crack!' as something broke off Rex.

"Ouch!" Rex exclaimed. "What was that?"

"Something's wrong with the brakes," his driver replied. He tried to put them on again, but nothing happened. The weight of the ballast hoppers began to push them faster down the slope. The ballast hoppers weren't silly like other trucks, but there was nothing anyone could do.

Rex started going faster and faster. He whistled loudly as he rumbled across a level crossing. His driver turned on his radio-telephone.

"Emergency! We've got a runaway train!" he told Control. "Rex's brakes have failed and we can't stop!"

The news was quickly relayed to the yard signalman. For a few seconds, he debated what to do. Jock was about to leave with a full train of passengers, and all the other lines had objects in the way. There was only one other place where he could divert Rex, but it had no buffers to stop him. The signalman changed the points anyway.

Rex came hurtling around a bend, heading straight into the yard, whistling loudly. The whistle woke Bert, who'd been dozing in the shed. He watched in horror as Rex and his train ran up onto the chute. Beneath the chute, Duck was just pulling out with a full ballast train.

_That ballast will be a lot softer for Rex to fall into than onto the tracks_, Bert quickly thought. At the same time, he shouted, "Stop, Duck!"

Duck's driver heard Bert, and he instantly applied the brakes. Duck's train stopped just as Rex reached the end of the chute. With a frightened groan, Rex tumbled headlong off the end of the chute. His front end was quickly submerged in the ballast inside the last truck on Duck's train. Behind Rex, the rest of his train crashed off the chute too. Many of the hoppers crashed into each other, causing them to fall sideways off the chute, but one flew over Rex and landed in another one of Duck's trucks.

As the dust cleared, everyone ran over to the scene. Ballast and hopper trucks were scattered in all directions, and all that could be seen of Rex was his cab. His tender was lying on the track beside the truck. Thankfully, his driver had jumped clear just before Rex had run onto the chute. He had a few cuts and bruises, but other than that, he was uninjured.

It took ages to clean up the mess. Donald brought the brakedown train to help rescue Rex. Soon, the Fat Controller arrived to see the damage. He shook his head in disbelief.

"Now how are we going to get the ballast to the worksite?" he sighed to the Small Controller. "That chute's going to take weeks to be repaired, and we'll have to build some new hoppers too." He turned to Rex, who was being lifted out of Duck's truck. "What were you thinking, taking so many trucks at once?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Rex whispered meekly. His front was badly twisted, and his boiler was scratched and dented. "I was just trying too hard to get my work done. I didn't know my brakes were going to fail. It wouldn't have happened if Bert wasn't always so ill."

The Fat Controller turned to Bert. "I understand that you were the one who warned Duck to stop. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir," Bert gulped nervously.

Seeing how nervous Bert was, the Fat Controller softened. "Well done. You helped prevent what could have been an even worse accident. And when Rex is repaired, you will be rewarded with a complete rebuild at my Works."

"A rebuild, sir?" Bert whispered. "I don't understand."

The Fat Controller moved closer to Bert. "The reason why you have so much difficulty in breathing is because your firebox is too small. With a larger firebox and a new exhaust system, you'll feel like a different engine."

"But…why can't I have that done here?"

"The fitters here don't have the skills to rebuild you," the Small Controller explained. "I know they built Jock, but they were working from a pattern. We don't have any patterns for you, so it'll be best if you go to the Works, where the men there know what they're doing. Sir Topham Hatt has kindly arranged everything for you, so you'll be well looked after."

"One of my other engines, Henry, had a condition similar to yours," the Fat Controller continued. "He was rebuilt, and now steams very well and has had few breathing issues since. Don't worry. Once your rebuild is done, you'll wish you'd had it sooner!"


	3. Chapter 3 - Size Matters

Size Matters

One morning on the Skarloey Railway, Rheneas and Peter Sam were resting in the shed, when Skarloey, Ivo Hugh and Duncan arrived.

"Uh, oh! Here's trouble!" Rheneas sighed.

"Those trucks have no respect for engines!" Duncan fumed. "They held me back and I couldn't move! The Thin Controller said I could've moved them if I'd wanted to, but he just doesn't understand. We're not strong enough for that! We're not like the big engines!"

"Just be grateful you're not any smaller than you are, Duncan," Ivo Hugh grinned. "I've heard of a railway that uses engines even smaller than us to haul their trains."

Duncan frowned. "How could it? Engines of that size would be completely useless!"

"Not according to the Thin Controller," Peter Sam said. "He owns part of that railway, as does our Owner. They say that the smaller an engine is, the more powerful it is in size to weight ratio."

"Pah!" Duncan scoffed. "I don't believe it!"

At that moment, Douglas arrived with a flatbed truck. Secured to the top of the truck was a small blue tender engine. The narrow-gauge engines stared at the engine, who was only half their own size. He was fast asleep.

"Hauld yer wheesht!" Douglas whispered. "The wee engine's tired."

"We can see that," Rheneas said. "Who is he?"

"He's called Bert. He's here for a rebuild. He comes from a wee railway on the ither side of the Island."

"The Small Railway!" Rheneas, Skarloey, Ivo Hugh and Peter Sam exclaimed in unison. They glared pointedly at Duncan, who flushed bright red.

"Shh!" Douglas shushed. "You'll wake him!"

"Sorry!" the engines whispered.

Douglas shunted Bert into the siding beside the narrow-gauge engines, before returning to his work.

When Bert awoke, he found the narrow-gauge engines staring at him. He glanced around anxiously.

"Where am I?" he wondered. "And who are you?"

The engines told him their names and where he was. Bert breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. And I take it that that's the Works over there?"

"Yes," Skarloey confirmed. "We understand that you're going to be rebuilt."

"That's right. But I'm really nervous about it."

"You needn't be," Skarloey assured him. "I felt fantastic after I was rebuilt many years ago. I got an extra set of wheels and a cab. What are the men going to do to you?"

"New exhaust system and a bigger firebox," Bert replied with a small smile. "I have a lot of breathing difficulties."

"I wonder if you'll get a funnel like mine," Peter Sam said, glancing up proudly at his Giesl funnel. "I haven't had any breathing difficulties since I got it."

"Do you really pull heavy trains?" Duncan blurted out.

"Oh, of course! All the time," Bert smiled.

"But how?" Duncan protested. "You're only half the size of us!"

Bert smiled. "Because we're smaller, our steam is compressed more easily than yours. That makes us more powerful. Sadly though, we suffer a lot from breathing issues. When your fires are lit each morning, you're able to breathe easily without help. But we need to have a small vacuum fan put in our funnels each morning to help us draw up our fires."

"Doesn't that hurt?" Peter Sam asked.

"No! Anyway, we're used to it."

"What's the heaviest train you ever pulled?" Ivo Hugh asked.

"Oh…I think it was about fifteen ballast hoppers. Rex had an accident recently when he tried to haul twenty, but it wasn't his fault. He'd have been fine if his brakes hadn't failed."

"Twenty trucks! That's a lot!" Peter Sam said, impressed.

"What about carriages?" Duncan wondered.

"We usually don't haul more than ten."

"Some of us have difficulty pulling more than four carriages at a time," Skarloey said, looking pointedly at Duncan again. Duncan scowled.

The Thin Controller and the Owner walked into the yard.

"Ah, Bert!" the Owner smiled. "I hope my other engines have been keeping you entertained?"

"They have, sir. They're been very kind to me."

"Good. Because they're ready for you over in the Works now."

"Do you really own Bert?" Duncan asked the Owner.

"We're both part owners of him," the Thin Controller told him just as the Works' diesel arrived to shunt Bert into the Works.

"Thank you for talking to me," Bert said to the engines. "You've all made me feel much better and I'm not nervous now."

"Hope you feel better soon!" Skarloey called as the diesel took Bert away.


	4. Chapter 4 - Snow Engine

Snow Engine

It was winter on the Island of Sodor, and heavy snow had been falling for several weeks. The main line engines managed fine with their snowploughs, but the Small Railway engines had a problem. Snowdrifts that the mainline engines could easily push aside were deep enough to bury the small engines. They had to be very careful, even with their small snowploughs. Trains were often late or cancelled altogether because of the weather, and that made the engines cross.

"Snow!" huffed Mike one morning. "Why do we have to have it?"

"There are some places in the world that don't get snow," Rex told him.

"That's cold comfort," Mike grumbled.

"I think it's pretty," Jock smiled.

"But it can be dangerous," Frank reminded him. "Just remember to keep your eyes focused on the track at all times."

"Track? What track?" Mike snorted. "You can't see it under all this snow!"

"You still need to watch it."

"Huh!" Mike scoffed. "And what would you know? I'm a lot older than you, so don't you try telling me what to do!"

Mike let off steam loudly, just as the Small Controller walked into the shed.

"My! Someone's cross this morning," the Small Controller exclaimed. "Settle down, Mike, or I'll make you plough the snow this morning instead of Frank."

Mike seethed in silence. The Small Controller turned to the other engines.

"You'll all be pleased to know that Bert is coming home from the Works tomorrow," he announced.

The engines started talking at once.

"How is he?"

"Have you been to see him?"

"Is he better now?"

The Small Controller held up his hand for silence. "To answer those questions: Rex, Bert is fine. Mike, I've just been to see him. And Jock, Bert is still undergoing some final testing today, but so far his breathing has greatly improved. He was very happy to see me, and he's really looking forward to coming home."

Sure enough, when Donald returned Bert to the Small Railway the following day, he was grinning broadly. Mike, Rex, Jock and Frank were lined up to greet him as he was carefully lifted off the flatbed truck by a crane.

"Oh, it's so good to be home at last!" Bert exclaimed happily once he was safely back on the rails again. "How are you all?"

The engines couldn't stop staring at Bert. He looked so different! His funnel, dome and cab were taller, making him look very similar to Jock.

"Why are you all staring at me?" Bert wondered.

"You look like Jock!" Mike blurted out.

"Are you taking my name in vain?" Jock challenged.

"I…no!" Mike spluttered.

"I think Bert looks great," Frank said. "You look very happy, Bert, and we're all glad to have you back."

"Now he just has to pull his weight around here at last," Mike muttered.

"Ignore him," Rex told Bert.

"I am."

The next morning, the Small Controller told Bert to spend the morning resting after his long journey home. This made Mike really cross.

"Why should Bert have a rest?" he grumbled. "He's been resting for months at the Works, while we do his work as well as our own!"

"Bert's been through a lot over the last few months," his driver explained. "Being rebuilt is a serious operation, and it'll take him a while to recover from it. He's going to be going out for some more tests later this afternoon, so he should be able to do a bit of work after that."

"Sez you!" Mike sneered.

Soon, Mike was heading for the quarry with some ballast hoppers. As he rounded a corner, he saw a large snowdrift blocking the track ahead of him.

"Stop!" he shouted to his driver, but it was too late. Mike ploughed straight into the snowdrift.

He wasn't hurt, but he couldn't move. His driver switched on the radio-telephone to talk to Control.

"We're stuck," he said simply.

"We'll send someone to get you out," Control replied.

Sure enough, help soon arrived in the form of Bert. Mike was not pleased to see him.

"Control said you need help, and I can see you do!" Bert chuckled as he drew to a stop behind Mike's train. Mike didn't bother to answer.

Bert took the empty ballast hoppers away, but he soon returned to help Mike. A chain was attached between the two engines, and Bert's driver sprayed plenty of sand down onto the track to help Bert grip on the icy rails. When everything was ready, Bert took up the strain. Mike was surprised by the strength of Bert's tugging, but he still said nothing.

Finally, Bert pulled Mike out of the snowdrift. Mike was greatly relieved.

"I'm sorry I teased you about your new look yesterday," Mike said meekly as Bert helped him home.

"That's okay," Bert replied. "I know it's different. I didn't like it at first either, but I really like it now. Especially since it's really helped me with my breathing."

"But why did they give you a different funnel and cab?"

"My new exhaust pipe that helps me breathe better wouldn't fit with my old funnel, so they had to give me a new one. And they made my cab and dome taller so I'll look in proportion."

"You really do look like Jock now. At least you two aren't painted the same colour."

"Now THAT would be confusing, wouldn't it?" Bert chuckled happily. Mike also laughed, and the two friends continued on their way.

**This is the last story for this 'book'. I have two more planned, so stay tuned! Please review. I greatly appreciate any feedback. **

**Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the Thomas and Friends franchise. I write these stories for my own enjoyment and to try out different forms of creative writing. **


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